Three more arrests for Aggies, including defensive lineman on assault charges

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M anticipates senior defensive end Gavin Stansbury, voted by his teammates as the defense’s most valuable player last season, helping lead the Aggies into their rugged season opener at Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina on Aug. 28.

At this point, however, they’re simply hoping he’s not sitting on his couch in College Station at kickoff, following his recent arrest stemming from charges of assault in Harris County. Stansbury’s detainment last week in Brazos County came to light Wednesday, along with the arrest of two teammates, safety Howard Matthews and receiver Ed Pope, following an apparent routine traffic stop the night of April 10.

The latter two were arrested by College Station police for failure to appear in court, while Stansbury’s assault allegations were the most troubling of the bunch. He was initially suspended from all A&M athletic department activities following the arrest, A&M spokesman Alan Cannon said Wednesday, but has since been reinstated to the program.

Cannon, who declined to elaborate on the meaning of Stansbury’s reinstatement, added that Matthews and Pope were not suspended from the program following their arrests. According to KBTX-TV, which obtained a probable cause statement out of Houston concerning the Stansbury matter, “Rice University Police say Stansbury poured a can of beer on a student’s head and then punched him in the left eye on March 16. The victim needed eight stitches to close the wound.

“The alleged attack was witnessed by three students. One of them says she was grazed by Stansbury’s fist after he hit the male student in the face. … When police (later) interviewed Stansbury, he said he was working a paid internship at the Houston Rodeo (at the time) and had not been (at Rice) in several years.”

The three arrests continue a trend of third-year coach Kevin Sumlin’s Aggies running into legal trouble this offseason. Receiver Ricky Seals-Jones recently was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, but his lawyer countered that Seals-Jones intends to fight the charges. Quarterback Kenny Hill, who’s vying for the starting job, was arrested recently on charges of public intoxication. Touted safety Kameron Miles was dismissed from the program about a month ago for what Rivals.com reported as theft.

Defensive tackle Isaiah Golden was arrested in February on a misdemeanor marijuana charge, while fellow sophomore Darian Claiborne, a linebacker, was arrested at the same time for a noise violation (for yelling while the players were being questioned). Claiborne had already been arrested on charges of marijuana possession in December, and missed the Aggies’ victory over Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl as a result.

Last year, about half of Sumlin’s starting defense was suspended for the Aggies’ season-opening victory over Rice, following various transgressions during the offseason.